Summer festival

It was the night of the summer festival and people were wearing traditional Japanese dress to the shrine. Aoi was waiting for Haruto in front of the shrine where it was held. The sky was freed of clouds and the bright shining stars were looking down on the laughing children running around. The full moon was the most beautiful thing in the night sky. The silver colour light emitted by the moon was reflected on the ponds around the shrine. The gentle night wind brought the smell of the various food that they were selling. Aoi was wearing a simple white dress that blends perfectly with her snow-white skin. Her hair was tied up in traditional Japanese fashion with a few hair ornaments to decorate her black hair. She was like a goddess descended from the celestial realm, but in reality, she was only a normal high schooler waiting for her friend who was running late. Haruto was running to the shrine. They had promised to meet up at 7 and it was already 7:39. Haruto was helping an old woman who was lost, which took a lot more time than he had anticipated. Fortunately, Aoi was much more patient than she looked and frankly didn't care about what time he would show up as long as he does.

"Aoi-san, over here!", screamed Haruto with a lot of difficulties. He's been running for the past 10 minutes and spent another 5 minutes trying to find Aoi in the crowd. It was quite easy to find her; Aoi was radiating a godly aura that made people stay less than 5 meters from her. His jaw dropped when he caught a glimpse of what Aoi was wearing.

" Sorry for making you wait. There was an old woman who was lost and I helped her find her way to the station.", the young man apologized nervously.

" It's ok, I didn't wait long. Come on, let's get some food!"

Aoi grab Haruto's hand and ran to the nearest stall that sells food. The festival is about 3 hours long and it ends with fireworks. this gave the two lovebirds enough time to go to every stall with food or carnival games. They played around until the start of the firework show. Haruto used to go to the summer festival with his friend when they were small until she moves out. they were always exploring and they once had stumbled into a perfect place to watch the fireworks. It was a clearing in the center of the forest near the shrine. It was next to a little river and there wasn't any tree there. There wasn't anything blocking the view of the sky and the wind that followed the flowing water in the river was cool and refreshing. Haruto had been hoping to share this clearing with Aoi ever since he ask her to the festival. Towards the end of the festival and the start of the fireworks, the 15 years asked Aoi if she wanted to go somewhere less populated to watch the fireworks. She accepted since it was indeed really crowded and she could barely see the night sky. Haruto grabbed her hand and lead her to the back of the shrine and through the forest to the clearing at the center of the forest. It was the same as Haruto remembered, the cool mountain water flowing in the river, reflecting the silver beam of the full moon and the leaves from the nearby trees dancing in the gentle breeze. The wind brought the fresh smell of the nearby trees. The moonlight served as the only source of light for the clearing. It was like a photo that had been edited multiple times to make it perfect. The scene made Haruto a bit nostalgic about when he used to play with his friend when they were small. How long has it been since he last saw her? 7 years? Now he can't even remember her face or her name, but the memories that they made together will always be engraved in his brain. He may have not seen her for the last 7 years, but he still remembers the pain that he felt when he learned that he will not able to see her friend again. Tears started to form in his eyes.

"Wow", muttered Aoi.

This brought Haruto back to the presence. He quickly wiped his tears before Aoi noticed.

" Beautiful, isn't it?", whispered Haruto.

" Yeah", Aoi answered back in the same tone.

They were scared of ruining the magic of the place by speaking too loudly.

" I forgot how beautiful this place is. It's been so long since last came here.", said Haruto.

They were both focused on the sky, waiting for the fireworks to start. Haruto turn towards Aoi and his jaw dropped. She was even more beautiful right now with her makeup wearing off from the sweat, her untied hair gliding in the winds and her pale skin seems to be absorbing the silver light of the moon. She sat down on the grass, waiting for the fireworks to start. Haruto sat beside her.

" Aoi, I...", he got cut off by a bang, then another and another. The night sky is now full of colors. The fireworks began and Haruto was quite thankful for the timing. Another minute or so, he would've done something that might ruin his friendship with Aoi. On the other hand, Aoi was so mesmerized by the scenery that she did not register anything that Haruto said in her short and long time memories. Later, she would have trouble recalling this memory and Haruto would be very ashamed of himself. But right now, they were too busy being empress by the colourful flowers blooming in the evening sky. The wind picked up and their hair was being blown towards the back of their heads. And thru, today marked the second step of their journey as Haruto and Aoi made their first memory; the smell of the woods, the colour of the sky and the feeling of the wind gently pushing them were all engraved in their mind.